Powerhouse in Rogue
by Lady Ice
Summary: Rogue has been sercretly working on her power. Can she keep her newfound control a secret?
1. Default Chapter

Rogue, the untouchable, had touched almost everyone on the team, as well as many others over the years. Due to the nature of her mutation, their personalities, memories and, in the case of other mutants, their powers, had stayed with her.  
  
No one else knew this. It had taken her a lot of practice and hard work to develop her mutation to this point and once she had, she guarded it closely. Despite all her efforts, it was still impossible to touch anyone skin to skin for more than a few seconds before her mutation did kick in, so she still considered her work a failure.  
  
Once she had earned her license, she made it a habit to go off alone and practice her control over her borrowed powers. She was getting quite good. But still, she never told.  
  
****  
  
Brriinnggg! The dismissal bell sounded along with a welcome shout of joy throughout the school. It was Friday. Scott, Jean and the younger kids were waiting for her at the front of the school.  
  
"Come on Rogue, we wanna get home!"  
  
"All right, Ah'm coming."  
  
"No homework! This is going to be the best weekend! I'm gonna go to the mall and shop and ..." Kitty quickly went ranting in her trademark valley girl attitude. "Rogue, you gotta come with!"  
  
"That's okay, Ah actually had plans this weekend."  
  
"You've gotten so secretive lately! Are you seeing someone?"  
  
Rogue sighed. Leave it to Kitty.  
  
Jean decided to help Rogue by interrupting Kitty. "Rogue, you know, we're your friends. Why don't you spend time with us this weekend?"  
  
It was like that the whole ride home. Rogue seriously considered teleporting to and from school. If Kurt could do it.  
  
Arriving back at the mansion, they all trooped out of the car. Logan and Storm were there waiting for them. Around them were knapsacks for each one of them.  
  
"Kids, this weekend is going to be spent working on your survival skills. The 2nd class will stay with me and Storm, while the 1st class will be given a practical." Logan taught combat and survival at the mansion. His idea of rewarding the kids who did well in his classes was to dump them in the middle of nowhere for three days and see who called for help first. The less successful stayed under his direct supervision. There was a long standing debate among the students over which class suffered more.  
  
There was a loud chorus of groans.  
  
"You have ten minutes to get changed and back here. We have all your equipment ready."  
  
Despite their protests, the kids knew better than to argue.  
  
****  
  
Rogue may have been silent about her new abilities, but her actions had clued Logan, Storm and the Professor that something was up.  
  
"I don't understand it Charles. She's never been outgoing, but this sudden withdrawal concerns me." Storm kept a close eye on all the kids.  
  
"It concerns me as well. Have either of you been able to talk to her?"  
  
"When has she been around to talk to? Leave her alone Charles, she probably needs some space. She'll get over it." Logan, being a loner himself, was reluctant to intrude on someone else's solitude.  
  
"Normally, I'd agree, but this has been going on too long."  
  
They had finally decided on this trip as a course of action. The expedition was not uncommon enough to seem odd. Logan could slip away from the main group to surreptitiously check on the advanced teams as he usually did. They figured Rogue would be less guarded by herself in the woods than in the mansion. Maybe they could find out what she was up to.  
  
****  
  
The Xavier School for the Gifted had rented several adjacent campsites in order to minimize prying eyes. Storm parked the jet in a nearby clearing and the group hiked to the main campsite.  
  
"Listen up!" Logan shouted to get everyone's attention. "This will be a shorter trip than most. We're only here until Sunday afternoon. Here are the assignments: Class two will stay here with the exception of Bobby and Kitty. Kitty, you're paired with Jean, she'll introduce you to the class one exercises. Bobby, you're with Scott, he'll teach you. You pairs, with Evan, Rogue and Kurt will be dropped a fair distance from the camp and will hike back alone. Kurt, no teleporting unless there is an emergency. You are not allowed to help each other unless there is an emergency and they make contact over the communicators. The communicators will also contact camp, and I'll come get you within five minutes."  
  
This was for the benefit of Class two. With the exception of Bobby and Kitty, all of Class one had been through this many times and had passed not only camping proficiency tests but official first aid and survival training. For them, this was a trip to hone more skills than they learned.  
  
"Everyone check your gear! Once class one is dropped, you will not be issued more. You lose it or don't have it, too bad. John, put that out and pay attention." One of the newer students, a pyrokinetic, had been goofing off.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, gear stowed, Class one went back to the jet with Storm.  
  
Storm returned by nightfall. Logan had gotten the kids bedded down. They were only asleep because they knew they'd need it tomorrow, otherwise even the infamous Wolverine might not have been successful.  
  
"They're all dropped safely. I got as low as I could. Kurt insisted on 'porting to the ground."  
  
"Where did you drop the teams?"  
  
"Jean and Kitty are closest in, but in a tricky place, about here." Storm pointed out an area on the map. "It'll take them some time. Scott and Booby are here, further out. I don't expect either group to take longer than tomorrow afternoon to get back."  
  
"That's fine for Bobby and Kitty's first trip. Where's Evan, Kurt and Rogue?"  
  
"They'll be back Sunday morning. They're scattered about five miles out. Happy tracking." It was a game they played. Storm would drop the kids off and Logan would track them all down the first night. It kept him in practice.  
  
With a grin and a grunt, Logan ran off into the woods.  
  
****  
  
Rogue was set up nicely in the camp she had pitched. This was perfect! Sure, it had not been the ideal way to spend the entire weekend, but she could practice her wilderness and mutant skills without interference.  
  
A spark from one of Amara's heat emissions lit the campfire admirably. There was a long standing injunction on the class not to use their powers on the trip, but hardly anyone obeyed it perfectly. As long as it was not enough to attract Logan or Storm's attention, they usually got away with it.  
  
Using Mystique's powers of shapeshifting, Rogue practiced being Magneto then Sabertooth. It took some effort to get the new shapes to do the skills that her own body was accustomed to do. Once she had put Amara's fire out, Sabertooth's huge hands were incredibly clumsy at starting a new one.  
  
Of course, the physical differences weren't the only challenge. When using only the power of another, their mentality resurfaced only momentarily, her mind and personality stayed firmly in control. When using Mystique's power to be someone else, the new mentality reasserted itself, almost as if sensing that it was where it rightfully should be. Then it was harder for Rogue to maintain control over her body and her mind.  
  
The difficulty varied form mentality to mentality. The X-men mentalities who understood her power rarely fought with her although they insisted on being with her rather than filed away. Mystique, never did, either. She even encouraged Rogue to practice her ability. Apparently the real Mystique had wanted to train Rogue to do just this; absorb powers and use them. The Brotherhood mentalities were trickier, but since they too had once been her friends, they felt badly about taking over completely and rarely tried it.  
  
The hard ones were Sabertooth, Juggernaut, Magneto and the slight impressions of humans she had picked up. The mutants were eager to control her, but over time their connection to their real selves was fading, even if their memories and powers weren't. The humans had been terrified when she had originally absorbed them, so that emotion made them permanently resistant to her using their shapes and memories. Rogue did her best to block them out; after all, she didn't need them; with Mystique's power she didn't need to absorb someone to look like them.  
  
Overall, she was doing rather well. The only part of her mutation, besides the connection, that was giving her any problems were the nightmares.  
  
****  
  
Logan had successfully found and checked on every one of the kids except Rogue.  
  
Moving carefully through the woods, he felt a magnetic hum go through him. Almost like the fields Magneto manipulated when he used his power. At first Logan was startled into moving faster towards the source, but even as the field grew stronger, he could find not so much as a whiff to prove Magneto was in the area. Then, he passed a badly mangled log. The claw marks were almost an exact match with Sabertooth, but again, no scent betrayed him.  
  
After that, he caught a whiff of fire, a fire that burned with a scent much like Amara's. Amara should be back at the camp with Storm. What could she be doing this far out?  
  
Logan bounded ahead, moving silently through the forest; no mean feat. Coming upon a little clearing, Logan kept to the shadows. There was Rogue, camp properly set up, pack and food carefully hoisted, shifting from her own appearance to that of Magneto or Juggernaut. Even in her own shape, she was using powers that were not originally hers.  
  
She started to practice some of the moves he'd taught her in the Danger room. Slipping on a branch, she fell and split into three additional copies. Each copy then started practicing their ability to manipulate various powers and skills until she called them back.  
  
Logan stayed in the shadows, watching until she finally went to sleep. After making sure the others were still okay, he headed back to the main camp.  
  
"So, how are they?" Storm asked, half asleep. "What is it?" She asked, noting the grin on Logan's face.  
  
"Rogue has been practicing." He said in a low tone so the kids wouldn't overhear. Can you hear us Charles? Logan sent to the Professor.  
  
Yes I can. Charles said into both of their minds. How has her practice been coming?  
  
"She has an extraordinary degree of control over the powers and, apparently minds she has absorbed. She was practicing in their shapes and in her own, it's very impressive."  
  
"Is she having any of the problems the others have with their powers? Jean can't always control how much she receives, Scott needs the lenses to filter, that sort of thing." Storm switched to mothering mode.  
  
"You'll have to ask her, but I assume if she can turn it on, she can turn it off when that becomes a problem."  
  
Remarkable. She must be thrilled.  
  
"Why do you suppose she hasn't told us?"  
  
I don't know Orroro. Perhaps she is not ready. She had a lot to absorb the last time we ran into Mystique last year. Perhaps she is simply relived that some good came out of that experience.  
  
"I thought you had gotten rid of all the personalities in her mind after that. What happened?"  
  
I'm not sure. Obviously, I wasn't as successful as I thought I was.  
  
"Do you want to confront her with this when we get back? She obviously wants this kept a secret, from the kids at least." They all sat for a while, thrilled with the success of their student. They knew how hard things had been for her.  
  
We'll discuss this at length when you return. Make sure they're all safe. Goodnight.  
  
"Good night Charles." Storm and Logan smiled at each other, before going to their tents and falling asleep.  
  
****  
  
Everyone except Rogue had come back and the kids were breaking camp. Bobby and Kitty were telling all who would hear about their experiences on their first trip. Jean and Scott were as far away as possible from their exuberant charges, looking exhausted. It was still Sunday afternoon, but Storm and Logan had expected that Rogue would be back by now.  
  
"I'll go look for her!" Kurt volunteered, eager to get away from the packing process.  
  
"All right elf, be back soon."  
  
"Allright!" With a rush of imploding air, Kurt was gone.  
  
It was then that Storm realized the possibility of him finding out Rogue's secret. "Oh no." Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do about that now. 


	2. Practicing Control

It was Sunday afternoon before Rogue gave even a thought to getting back to the main camp. She had stayed where she had been dropped all of Saturday.  
  
'I guess I'll have to hurry.' She smirked to herself. Gathering up her gear, she then tried various ways of getting back. Jean's teleportation really wasn't good for long term transportation of anything heavy. So, she switched to 'porting. When that got too tiring she took a break and just walked for a while, enjoying the sights and sounds.  
  
Looking at her watch, she noticed that it was nearly four. She was going to be late. Logan and Storm would be so angry. To herself, she wondered if she dare risk it.  
  
There was one aspect of Mystique's power of transformation that Rogue had never been comfortable enough to try. Mystique often used her ability to turn into animals as a means to escape. With it she could quickly carry high above whatever troubles she left on the ground. Rogue had only ever used that power to change into people. 'Well. Desperate times.' Shrugging out of her pack, Rogue turned herself into a small sparrow.  
  
Whoosh! A wind of exploding air heralded the arrival of Kurt. Startled, Sparrow Rogue flew up to a low branch. 'What the hell was Kurt doing here?' she mentally yelled.  
Walking over to her pack, Kurt picked it up and looked around as if expecting to see her. "Rogue, are you here? Everybody's vaiting!"  
  
With a bird-like chirp of frustration, Sparrow Rogue hopped around to the far side of the tree she was on; well away from Kurt's line of sight. Down on the ground, Rogue fought down the urge to pop out as something that would frighten Kurt away and quickly turned back into herself. Eyeballing her outfit and running a hand over her face to double check that she was in fact herself, Rogue stepped out from behind the tree.  
  
"Kurt, what are you doing here?"  
  
"You're late, Rogue. I volunteered to find you. Vait till you see Scott and Jean." Kurt was laughing. "Bobby and Kitty wore them out. Do you vanna 'port back?"  
  
"Sure. Are Storm and Logan mad?"  
  
"Nah. They're too busy making sure everyone else gets ready to go home. But vhat happened to you Rogue? You usually beat at least Evan back."  
  
"I was taking my time. I have fun out here." Hoisting her pack back on, Rogue let Kurt wrap his arms around her before he 'ported back to camp.  
  
Pfft!  
  
"There you are!" the gruff voice could only be Logan. "Well get aboard, we've been waiting all day." Bobby and Kitty, finding a new audience, started chattering excitedly as Rogue and Kurt strapped in. Yeah, Rogue definitely liked the quiet in the woods.  
  
****  
  
"Kurt didn't seem to notice anything unusual. Though they did get back late."  
  
"And Rogue didn't notice you were watching her?" The Professor asked Logan after listening to Storm.  
  
"She didn't let on if she did. I'll have to talk to her about that. She should have been more alert." Said Logan, ever the survivalist.  
  
"Logan, she was probably just wrapped up in what she was doing."  
  
"Storm, I was ten feet away. If I was something out to get her, she wouldn't be here now. All the other kids noticed; they were on guard. She's done these trips often enough to expect me if nothing else."  
  
"How do you want to talk to Rogue about this?"  
  
"I still think that we should let her come out with it on her own. I will talk to her about paying attention though." That was Logan.  
  
"If we let her know that we know, perhaps she'll feel more comfortable practicing with our help. She has many of our powers. Except yours, Charles. We have years of experience on her. We can help." Rogue had absorbed some of Storm's power the first time they had met. At the time her lack of control had almost killed Storm and Scott.  
  
"She wasn't havin' problems with control. She's got many of those powers mastered."  
  
"Perhaps it'll come as less of a surprise if I ask her about it." The Professor said.  
  
****  
  
Rogue was lying on her bed, reading, when she felt the contact with the Professor.  
  
Rogue, would it be alright if I talked to you for a moment?  
  
"Sure Professor. I'll be right there?"  
  
Please come to my office.  
  
Downstairs, in Professor Xavier's office, Rogue sat in an overstuffed armchair while he rolled around to a spot across from it.  
  
"Rogue, I know that you have been practicing with your powers and that you've been getting very good." The Professor gave her a minute to absorb the information.  
  
She took it fairly well. "Did you tell anybody?"  
  
"Storm, Logan, Hank and I had noticed a change in your behavior. On the trip, Logan tracked you down as he usually does and saw you practicing your powers. Then, he told Storm and I and I told Hank. Other than that, I doubt anyone knows."  
  
She didn't say anything.  
  
"Logan said that you had mastered many of the powers he saw you using. This is wonderful for you! I'm glad that some good." While he had been speaking, Xavier had unconsciously reached out a hand, as if to grip her on the shoulder.  
  
Rogue flinched away. "Don't touch me!" The Professor immediately drew back. "I still can't be touched. What good is any of it if I can't be touched?" Rogue moved over to the window, almost crying.  
  
"Rogue, I didn't mean to upset you. And this is a very good thing. It means you can control what you retain and file it away for when you need it. You won't be overwhelmed by an alien personality again. It is a huge step." When the X-men had first met Rogue, when she absorbed any of them, she became confused, thinking she was the person she had absorbed.  
  
Rogue still didn't look convinced. Turning back to look at him, she spoke "Even if that were true, these powers are belong to Scott, Kurt and the others. If I use them, they'll hate me."  
  
Ah. So this was why she had not told any of them. "You have parts of their personalities inside you. What do they tell you?"  
  
"But that was when they knew I couldn't help it. When I only suffered with my mutation. Now-."  
  
"You still cannot help how you receive your powers. I doubt any will begrudge you a positive side to this. If they do, and act on it, that's their problem. It has little to do with you."  
  
"It has everything to do with me! Besides, I still feel overwhelmed."  
  
"When do you feel overwhelmed?"  
  
"Whenever I take on the shape as well as the powers of someone I absorbed."  
  
"I see. Not at any other time?"  
  
They both stopped speaking, lost in thought. "Sometimes, when I wake up out of a nightmare of someone else's memories like Mystique's or Logan's or Magneto's sometimes, it can be hard to remember I'm me and that those things didn't happen to me."  
  
"I'm not sure how to help you with the memories. I could try to purge them as I did before but I."  
  
"No!" the word flew out of her mouth before she could stop it. "Sorry, I just meant that I could not find nearly this much control before you tried that and I'm a little afraid that if you do that, I'll lose the powers as well. If I don't have that inner mind telling me how to use it, it really would be if I stole them because the power would be the only thing of them I took. It would feel empty. I'd miss some of them."  
  
"Yes, I felt so as well. I don't know why what I tried didn't work, Rogue. You were very resistant when I did it and fragile afterwards. It's better we save that as a final resort. Anyway, if you can control the personalities, there should be no need to.  
"Would it be alright if I could see how far you have come? Logan said you were doing fine, but I was curious if you had any of their drawbacks when practicing other's powers."  
  
"Okay, but I still don't want anyone else to know."  
  
"Would you mind if Storm, Logan and Hank saw? They know already and are as happy for you as I."  
  
Reluctantly, Rogue agreed. "Would the Danger Room be alright?"  
  
Despite herself, Rogue smiled. She had been wanting to pitch her new tricks against the formidable training programs that the Danger Room provided.  
  
******  
  
Rogue followed the Professor into the main floor of the Danger Room. Storm, Logan and Hank were already waiting. Strom and Hank were smiling at her; Logan looked about as pleased as he ever did.  
  
"We're so happy for you!" Storm came over and put an arm around Rogue's covered shoulders. Rogue and Storm had always had a good relationship, not-quite mother/daughter but definitely older/younger sister. Storm's display had a surprising effect. Rogue felt the doubts she had been having about her friends hating her because she could control their powers start to melt.  
  
"Can I show what I can do?" For the first time, Rogue felt that maybe it would be ok if the Professor, Storm and other adults knew she could use their powers. Maybe they could be happy for her.  
  
"I cannot wait."  
  
So, somewhat self-consciously, Rogue started playing with Amara's fire. The remotes weren't activated, so no one was attacking her. It left the demonstration unstructured and with Rogue being painfully aware of an audience, she wasn't doing as well as she could have.  
Fortunately Logan, who could compare the differences in performance, recognized this. "Here kid, fight me."  
  
Rogue was visibly taken aback. She would have objected, but Logan had gone into Wolverine mode and his blitz-style attacks shocked her into responding.  
  
Hummm! A magnetic field washed through the room, stopping Wolverine three feet in the air. He couldn't move.  
  
She let him slowly fall back to the floor and released her hold on the adamantium bones of his body.  
  
He attacked again. Rogue used a slower way of putting him down. Letting him get close, she phased through a slash from his claws, then using the immense strength she had taken from Blob the day he had kidnapped Jean, picked Wolverine up and threw him across the room.  
Logan landed on his feet and smiled at the challenge. "Try something else kid!"  
Grinning, she sped towards him with Quicksilver's speed and struck him with one of Scott's low-powered optic blasts.  
  
Rogue, you're doing well. Try practicing in someone else's shape. The Professor sent her.  
Rogue shifted into Sabertooth's guise.  
"Don't give her ideas Charles!" A panting Logan called.  
SaberRogue smiled happily. No one had ever seen Sabertooth smile like that and everyone was a bit startled but pleased.  
  
But then the essence of Sabertooth in Rogue scented Logan. All of a sudden, Rogue couldn't control him as he tried his hardest to push her control back into the corner where she usually kept him locked. For one moment, he succeeded.  
  
In that second, SaberRogue roared and launched across the room in a murderous rage and fell directly at Logan.  
  
A tremor of fear shot through Hank, Storm and the Professor. Logan, aware of the minute change, was ready. Rogue, quickly regaining control, used the last second before she collided to phase through Logan, the wall and the floor and out of sight.  
  
Alarmed at the display, except for Logan, the adults were just about to go downstairs when Rogue, using Jean's telekinesis and Kitty's phasing floated back up through the floor wearing her own body again. Storm, Hank and the Professor quickly crossed the room.  
  
"Logan, I'm so sorry! He's still there and he got away from me when he saw you." Rogue's face was a picture of grief and dejection.  
  
"Kid, it's ok. I was ready for you; besides, Sabertooth and I can't do much damage to each other with the healing abilities we both have. Do they work for you too?" Rogue didn't have a mark on her.  
  
"Yeah, but I have to think about it. If I'm in control, none of these powers happen unless I choose to do it. My skin just does it on its own, that's not how the phasing and stuff works for me. I'm sorry, it's harder when I try to look like Sabertooth or Juggernaut or Magneto and practice their power while I look like them. They think they're back in their own bodies."  
  
"It is a good thing to know." Hank spoke up. "Have you formed any hypothesizes on why those three are hardest for you to control? Does anyone else give you trouble?"  
  
"Well the X-men are my friends and they know I can't help what happened, so they don't fight me. The Brotherhood was once my friends so they fight a little, but not nearly as much as Sabertooth and the rest."  
  
"What about Mystique?" Storm asked worriedly.  
  
"She wants me to be able to do this, so she kind of yells at the ones who give me trouble and they shut up. Or she'll give me tips on how to manipulate Erik or Creed or Pietro. She never tries to take over."  
  
The adults were all silent.  
  
"Well, I think you're doing remarkably well Rogue. You've certainly proved the incredible degree of control you can have." The Professor did seem pleased.  
  
"Would you like us to keep this a secret from the other students?" Storm asked.  
  
"Yeah I would. Can I try out the Danger room now?"  
  
Laughing, Hank returned to the lab, Storm to her gardens and the Professor to the observation deck.  
  
"I'll just work through this level with you kid." Logan grinned. "Let's see how good you really are."  
  
For the next hour Rogue and Logan worked through several levels of programming. By the end of it Logan was very impressed. "You're doin' good kid."  
  
Panting, Rogue could only stare up at him from where she had collapsed on the floor. "I've never done all that at once that quickly."  
  
"You wanna do it again?"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Go get cleaned up, I'm sure you got homework to do."  
  
"Ah, man." Rogue limped off to her room.  
  
Logan joined the Professor in the observation deck. "That was fun." He said, collapsing into a chair.  
  
"Do you really think she can do all that at this stage?"  
  
"She did it didn't she? She doesn't know it, but she's usin' the fighting styles of those she's absorbed too."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"That was definitely Mystique's high kick and Magneto's magnetic withdrawal. Scott uses his blasts erratically like that and I -."  
  
"Tend to charge targets?"  
  
"Yeah. She needs to work on originality."  
  
"I don't know, I thought when she got hit and split into five copies and then promptly started fighting with those copies was pretty original. For a second there you had most of the X-men fighting with you. But I can see how exploring alternate uses of those powers can be helpful. To the other students as well."  
  
"There's only one person I know she's absorbed that I haven't seen her borrowin' from."  
  
"You noticed Storm's absence too?"  
  
"Yeah. Maybe she doesn't want to muck around with the weather too much. I know I wouldn't feel comfortable playing with lightning. Could Storm help her with that?"  
  
"I think she'll have to. If Rogue starts having nightmares again and loses control in her sleep, lightning would be a scary thing to contend with. I'll talk to Storm about it."  
  
*******  
  
"Where have you been all weekend? We couldn't find you." Kitty demanded when Rogue walked in.  
  
"I've been around." Rogue fell onto the bed.  
  
"You never told me what you do when you go out with the first class. Last weekend was so cool! That was way cooler than having Wolverine make us tie knots and climb trees and all that stuff."  
  
Rogue smiled. "I'm guessing you didn't run into wildlife while you were out there."  
  
"What kinds of wildlife?"  
  
"You know the usual. Bears, mountain lions, that kind of stuff. It's a lot different when you're out there all by yourself than when you have Jean or Storm to go with you. You have to be on your guard to not leave a trail and quiet so stuff doesn't, you know, find you."  
  
"You sound like Logan. 'Everyone's out to get you. No one is safe."  
  
"That's how he's lived his life. He's still alive."  
  
"Yeah, but I like people. I can't imagine being on the run and scared all the time without having someone to count on."  
  
"Don't worry, you blend in pretty good."  
  
"But, remember a couple of years ago when Mystique kidnapped the Prof and blew up the Institute? What if we have to scatter someday and hide like the Morlocks down in the sewers?"  
  
"Kitty, I don't think that will happen. And even if it does, Logan and the Professor are making sure that we can survive out in the middle of nowhere for a while if we have to. Think about it Kitty, it means options. If someone knocks on your door in the middle of the night, you can phase out the back, walk into the woods and be gone."  
  
"Now you sound like Logan. You'd still be alone."  
  
"I don't know, maybe we could pick a meeting place for if that happens. Don't worry about it, it probably won't happen."  
  
Bamft! "Hi guys!" A German accent barged in. "Vhat's happenin?"  
  
"Rogue was telling me about what last weekend was like. What happened to you?"  
  
Kurt was about to respond, but the Professor's voice echoed through their heads.  
  
You all have school in the morning. Time to sleep. Kurt, go back to your room.  
  
"Don't vorry Kitty, I'll tell you tomorrow."  
  
*****  
  
School was nasty. There was no help for it. Ever since the normal kids had discovered the fact of their being mutants, there was no lasting peace for them.  
  
Rogue had built up a sphere of space around her from the get go so people usually let her alone, but the others weren't so lucky.  
  
Scott was always getting hassled about his shades, Kurt got by on his jokes and good humor, and Evan walked down the hall to shouts of "Toothpick!" and related comments.  
  
Kitty and Jean did all right, their friends kept quiet as long as they didn't remind them that they were mutants.  
  
The rest of the X kids, having been enrolled after the Mutant thing blew, hung around together for support.  
  
The Brotherhood kids had a bad attitude, which didn't help any. Lance and Pietro were always in fights, which the arrival of Fred, aka the Blob, always stopped.  
  
But things still happened.  
  
It was the end of the day. Rogue was getting books from her locker and looking forward to the weekend, when another camping trip would lead to the first of her sessions with Storm. Kitty and Kurt and his girlfriend were joking around a few feet away. Jean and Scott were coming down the hall to collect everyone to go home.  
  
Wanda, Pietro and Lance were passing from the other direction. That's when someone got cute. A conveniently placed foot sent Wanda sprawling. Pietro moved to stop her fall, but he was too late. Wanda had knocked into the lockers, her wildly searching hand found Rogue's face and the Scarlet Witch was out cold.  
  
The sheer rage was so great; Rogue almost lost control of it. Blue light sparked from her hands. She could feel the new Wanda personality seeking out the Magneto one, in an concerted attempt to do harm.  
  
But no one seemed to notice this. Lance was already threatening the jock who had done it. Pietro was quickly picking Wanda up. Scott and Jean were offering to take Wanda to the Institute to make sure she was okay.  
  
It was a sign of how bad the situation at school had gotten that the Brotherhood kids accepted. "Kurt, Kitty, tell Fred and Toad where we're going. Offer them a lift." And Scott and Jean were out the door, leading the three Brotherhood kids to their car. Kitty and Kurt went off in search of the rest of them.  
  
All of a sudden, the hallway was empty of mutants. No one noticed Rogue's distress or the war that was currently raging inside of her.  
  
Realizing she needed a private place to go, and quickly, she wasted no time porting to the only place she could think of, before she lost her tenuous control.  
  
****  
  
The adults were used to dealing with accidents that arose from mutant powers. They were less used to dealing with Wanda, but that was all right. Wanda quickly woke up in time for Mystique, Toad and Fred charge into the mansion with Kitty and Kurt right behind them.  
"Where is she?" Despite the high feelings most of the X-men had about Mystique, the Professor realized that Mystique did care for Wanda in her own warped way. He quickly took her to the hospice room where Wanda was sitting with Pietro and Lance. "Are you all right?"  
  
"I'm going to get that jerk! They have no right to hassle us like this!" the frustration in Wanda's voice was a clear indication that she was fine.  
  
All of the kids explained what had happened and that such things were commonplace at Bayville High. The adults expressed surprise that things had gotten so bad.  
"You should have told me."  
  
"We'll discuss this with the principal."  
  
"What good would it do? He hates mutants just as much as the kids!"  
  
Before the Professor and Mystique could get too much into a fight, Storm arrived from school with the rest of the kids.  
  
Oddly, it was Mystique who noticed Rogue's absence. "Where's Rogue?"  
  
"After you guys got here Scott, did you happen to noticed where she headed?"  
  
"Uh, actually Professor, I don't think she came with us."  
  
"What!" Mystique said what they all felt. "You just left her there?"  
  
"Well," Jean cut in. "There's no hurry now. Wanda's awake, so her powers have probably left Rogue by now."  
  
Logan, Hank, Storm and the Professor all exchanged a look. What with her new powers and the fact that she hadn't come back yet, they knew something was wrong.  
  
"All right. I will go and see if I can find her using Cerebro. Logan, would you mind looking in the woods? Hank, I need you to search the mansion. Storm, can you looking for her around town?" They quickly left and Xavier started to roll off.  
  
"Xavier! What's wrong with Rogue?" Mystique still thought of her as a daughter and regretted the distrust Rogue had for her. She had even gone so far as to impersonate a student to be friends with her. Mystique followed the Professor out the door, leaving kids from both the Brotherhood and the X-men alone and confused and gathered around Wanda's bed. 


	3. Enemies and Friends

"What do you mean, there's a chance that Wanda's personality is fighting Erik's personality. Have you run into Magneto lately?" Mystique asked.  
  
Professor Xavier answered as he strapped into Cerebro. "Recently we discovered that Rogue has been retaining not only the memories of those she's absorbed, but their powers as well. She's been practicing by herself and we only just discovered how good she's getting. She still had problems with certain personalities, like Magneto, and with such a panicked, angry absorption of Wanda, I'm afraid that she will take over Rogue and try to attack the Magneto personality. Unless Rogue can get Wanda under control, she could cause irreparable harm to Rogue and Rogue could cause irreparable harm to everyone else. You've seen what she's capable of."  
  
Even the oblique mention of what finding out that her friend Risty had really been Mystique and that Mystique was her foster mother had done to Rogue visibly effected Mystique. "She's really learning control?"  
  
"Yes. Listen, I can feel Erik, no Wanda, off near where we were going to go this weekend. Logan is closing in on the area."  
  
"Let me help."  
  
"I'm not sure that's the best-."  
  
"Look, I know Wanda, she listens to me, and maybe I can calm her down."  
  
The Professor gave her a long look. "All right. Come on."  
  
Quickly gathering Storm and Hank and leaving Scott and Pietro in charge they all piled in the jet and took off.  
  
Radioing in with Logan, they quickly closed in on Rogue's position.  
  
When they arrived, they found Logan trying to talk Rogue back into control. "Come on kid, you're doing so well. Don't let them push you around." Across the clearing, MagnetoRogue and WandaRogue were duking it out.  
  
"Logan, what happened?" Storm was the first to speak.  
  
"When I got here, she was locked into some kind of internal struggle. I tried to talk her out of it and she smacked the tree and split off into these two. They started fighting and Rogue seemed ok."  
  
"Rogue that was a very good temporary solution. I'm proud of you, now what can we do about getting those two under control?" Xavier nodded at Magneto and Wanda who were actively trying to subdue each other.  
  
"They're too hard to control. I can't get Wanda to stop. Erik will stop if she does, but she won't."  
  
"Rogue, may I try?" Mystique spoke up quietly. It was very unlike her to ask permission; this earned her many glances from the others.  
  
"Yeah, okay I guess." Rogue stopped trying to restrain Wanda and Erik, letting Mystique step forward.  
  
"Xavier, get Wanda here now, I need her for proof." Mystique said in a quick aside to the Professor. Then she turned to Wanda. "Wanda, do you remember when I told you about Rogue's powers?"  
  
"I'll kill him!" WandaRogue started to attack MagnetoRogue again, but Mystique's words stopped her.  
  
"Wanda! Listen to me! Do you remember what I told you about Rogue's power?"  
  
"Yes!" She was still glaring at MagnetoRogue. MagnetoRogue raised a hand, staying on guard.  
  
"Repeat it to me."  
  
"Rogue's mutation is to absorb the life force, memories and, in the case of mutants, powers of any person or thing she touches through skin to skin contact. Residual memories are permanently absorbed." WandaRogue spit out.  
  
"That is correct. Now listen to me. Among the people Rogue has absorbed is Magneto. It is the personality of his that you are fighting. You are actually a personality yourself. You live in Rogue now. It is neither your fault, nor Rogue's but you need to calm down and stop fighting her. If you don't you, as well as everyone else she has absorbed will die with her."  
  
"I don't believe you. This is my body! I am Wanda. If I weren't, I would be inside her, not out here where I can fight him. He's standing right there, who else could he be?"  
  
"You were inside Rogue, that's where you started fighting Magneto, remember? You both were fighting so much she couldn't control you and finally, she had to force you both out here using another mutant's power, to save herself."  
  
WandaRogue stared at Mystique, pondering her words.  
  
"Rogue," Storm said quietly into her ear. "Rogue, see if you cannot bring Magneto back inside you where he belongs and leave Wanda here to talk to us."  
  
"Okay." It was an effort, but she was able to do it. As soon as MagnetoRogue disappeared, a loud shriek split the air.  
  
"Where did he go?" WandaRogue demanded to know. Marching up to Rogue, she screamed at her. "What did you do with him!"  
  
Bamft! Kurt 'ported in with Wanda, as the Professor had requested when he called the Institute.  
  
"Do you see now Wanda?" Mystique put her arm around the real Wanda and walked her forward to face WandaRogue. "This here is Wanda. You are the part of her that Rogue absorbed in an accident at school. Do you remember that?"  
  
WandaRogue took a long time before answering; staring at Wanda, thinking. "Yes. Are you really me?" WandaRogue spoke to Wanda directly.  
  
"Yes I am." Wanda was totally confused, but she knew how to stand her ground.  
  
WandaRogue stood there looking at her alter ego. Then she looked at Rogue and then back to Wanda. "You know I'll have to live with him inside her head."  
  
"I know that."  
  
"Will you kill him for me?"  
  
"I will kill him for me. You will jibe him for both of us. It's slow that way. But don't hurt Rogue. Some jerk at school did this, not her."  
  
"Fine, I'll behave. I suppose you want me to show you how to use my powers." WandaRogue said this to Rogue.  
  
"Only if you want to. I know it's scary."  
  
"Fine. So do you wanna pull me in or whatever?"  
  
"I will, as long as it's okay with you." Rogue carefully brought WandaRogue back into herself. Mentally, she stored Wanda away into a corner of her mind, well away from where she put Magneto. Then she looked around at everyone who was gathered to help her. "Thank you so much."  
  
"Are you ok?" Storm asked for the rest of them.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine now. Mystique, you're helping her settle in and you're listening." Rogue said, nodding to Wanda. "I'm really sorry Wanda. I didn't mean to touch you."  
  
"I touched you. Do you really have all my memories and powers?"  
  
"Yeah, I do. I'm sorry, I can't help it. I-."  
  
"Do you want help with my powers? I had a lot of problems with them especially with trying to control my rage as well as my powers at the same time."  
  
Rogue was shocked. She expected the usually sullen Wanda to be angry with her. "I'd love that. Thank you."  
  
"That is a very generous offer Wanda." The Professor said.  
  
Wanda glared at him. Even though the Professor had tried to help her in the mental institution where she had been left by Magneto, she still blamed him for not getting her out sooner.  
  
"Well, why don't we all get back to the Institute and make sure both of you are okay, and then if you and the rest of your charges would like to stay for dinner?" Being hospitable to Mystique was hard, even for the Professor.  
  
The adults moved towards the jet, but Rogue pulled Kurt and Wanda back a bit. "Guys, is it okay if you didn't tell anyone about this? I kinda want to keep it a secret."  
  
Wanda nodded, understanding the importance of keeping secrets, living as she was in a house full of boys. Kurt, a naturally open and social individual was less understanding.  
  
"But Rogue, everyone will be so happy! You can do all these things. This is a vonderful thing!"  
  
"No, it's not!" If their personalities could wane like they did before, I would never have had this problem!"  
  
"I see that Rogue, but look on the bright side; you have me and Kitty and Scott and the rest of us right there to help you when things get crazy."  
  
Rogue just looked helplessly at him. He didn't understand. "Just, don't tell anybody, ok?"  
  
"Sure Rogue, no problem."  
  
*****  
  
Even though Mystique was skeptical about it, Wanda decided to follow the Professor's advice and stay over in the hospital wing for the night. Rogue was there too.  
  
Between the two of them, they were able to scare or glare most of the other kids into leaving to complete other more pressing things they had to do.  
Kitty babbled her way through an exit when Wanda started hexing various objects in the room.  
  
At first there was and long and awkward pause. Then Rogue couldn't control the laugh that she had been trying to swallow anymore. Her explosive laughter set Wanda off.  
  
"I wish," Rogue gasped out between gulps of air. "that I could do that to get her to shut up sometimes. She's really not so bad, but when she gets excited, she can go on and on."  
  
"You can you know," Wanda said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "You have my powers now so, you can."  
  
"But then they'd know."  
  
"That's not a bad thing. We get enough grief off the norms, we should be able to enjoy some part of our powers. I, for instance, get a kick out of scaring people away. Other than this, there's nothing about your mutation that's even remotely fun."  
  
"It's almost as if I steal from them."  
  
"Rogue, you do. But we get it back and get better. See, I'm fine."  
  
"I know, but I don't want them to resent me because I can do so much and I don't have any of their restrictions."  
  
"You have your own problems. Anyone who resents you should be able to understand that. If they don't, it's their own fault."  
  
"Wanda, I have them rolling around in my head. Everything about them. They do resent it, a little, all of them. That's one of the reasons the X-men personalities are so helpful, they feel guilty."  
  
"Well-." Wanda tried to respond, but Rogue had turned over, toward the opposite wall.  
  
"I don't want to talk about it. Goodnight Wanda."  
  
Sighing, Wanda went to sleep.  
  
****  
  
All she could hear was the reverberations of metal as a door slammed, again; again; again.  
  
All she could see was the grim face of her father as he stood by and let strangers drag her away.  
  
And then came the sound of a different door along with the sight of different strangers in militant uniforms from farther back; through different eyes.  
  
But fear was the same. Dark, thick and overpowering. Tentacles of the stuff dragging her back into a world of pain and more fear.  
  
Rogue awoke screaming.  
  
Sitting up and catching her breath, it took many long minutes for the panicked urge to run calmed down.  
  
"It's okay, you're up now." Wanda's quiet voice reassured her. "Was it my memories?"  
  
Rogue looked over at her. "Yeah. Yours and Erik's."  
  
Wanda looked as though she wanted to say something but had thought the better of it. Instead she spoke. "You'll never be there again, not really. I'm sorry."  
  
"Do you know? You're the first person to ever apologize? I must have relived the nightmares and memories of thirty people again and again, and none of them ever apologize." Rogue's voice was still shaky, but there was an anger of her own underneath it; one that could not be reasoned with till it had run its course.  
  
A feeling that Wanda was very familiar with. "They just resent you."  
  
"Yeah, and leave me alone with it. Like when Miss Perfect's telepathy started developing faster, she almost killed herself she was so overwhelmed. So, I bled off a good portion of that to the point where it almost seemed as if I were in her and she in me. It gave her space to come to herself because I was carrying most of it. Who did she thank? Scott, for 'talking her down'."  
  
"Bitch."  
  
"And then there was this dream I had from Mystique about Kurt. It was all about what was important to Kurt; what did I know, what did I see, where did it happen? As if I were a computer to be picked at for answers." Rogue was crying now. "And none of them ever say thanks, or condolences. That time when I first started using all the powers of those I'd absorbed, they were scared of me! They, scared of me! I was terrified! There was nothing at all I wanted more than someone to talk me down, but no, they just kept attacking! And when I finally got it under control, Logan and the Professor convinced me to let him drive them out all at once. Leaving me fragile and alone. Logan and Kurt and the Prof tried to keep me company, but I don't know how to be that vulnerable. Then, when I finally know how to deal with just being me, I get out of the infirmary, I got a dose of Scott and Ray, and then," Rogue stopped, seeming to come to herself out of a very bad memory. "I'm sorry Wanda, it's late and I woke you up."  
  
"It's ok, really. What happened with Mesmero and Apocalypse?"  
  
"It doesn't matter. Mystique is back and they're loose and free in the world. I just get the feeling that if I hadn't been so alone in my head when Mesmero showed up that somehow, I could have withstood him."  
  
Minutes slipped by before Wanda or Rogue did or said anything.  
  
"I for one feel better that you know what I've been through. It makes me feel not as alone. Is that too terrible?"  
  
"Yes." Rogue returned to her usually blunt way of getting at the point. Both of them knew, that terrible as it was, it was more understanding than either had ever gotten. 


	4. In the Aftermath of Things

Mystique picked Wanda up at the Institute the next morning.

"I would like to speak to my student Charles, if it's not too much of a problem." She spat at him sarcastically. "I'll take her to school."

Wanda had expected Mystique to do something like this. Wanda was well aware of her status as one of Mystique's favorites. The attention and approval tended to alienate her a little from the rest of the Brotherhood. Usually this wasn't a problem, but there were times...

So Wanda got in the car Mystique kept for these types of situations and they took off.

"Are you okay?" Mystique had pulled the car over at one of the bluffs around Bayville. "Did they treat you okay there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. But..."

"What?"

"Well, I realized this morning that I could remember the mental hospital. And I could remember why I hate Magneto. And that I remembered this yesterday. I haven't been able to think of that for a long time now. Even after that whole Apocalyse thing and he and Pietro and I started getting along, you know, more than usual, I couldn't remember, but after yesterday I can. And I do hate him, but not quite so viciously as before. Could Rogue have somehow cancelled out Mastermind's effects?"

Mystique was surprised. "I'm not sure, but maybe that was an aspect of Rogue absorbing his powers too when she gave them to Apocalypse. Or maybe Mastermind merely blocked the memory from your conscious mind and when Rogue absorbed you, that part was set loose. Are you okay about this?"

Wanda ignored Mystique's concern. "Well, obviously it was set loose. She was going to kill him, wasn't she?"

"It sure looked like it. You could too you know. So, what do you think of the X-men now that you've spent a night with them?"

Wanda smirked. "Rogue seems okay though." Wanda looked away but still noticed Mystique's close glance of interest. "She knows things about Magneto and Pietro and a lot of other people. She could help me. That's as good a reason as any to be her friend, right?"

A strange look flitted across Mystique face. Though Mystique quickly hid it, Wanda caught it anyway. Good. Her little bit of misdirection had worked well. Mystique couldn't suspect her of joining the X-men now. Ever since Lance had briefly switched sides and after Rogue had left, Mystique could be downright paranoid.

"Are you up to school today, or would you like to go somewhere else?" Mystique used her offer to avoid answering any personal questions that might arise.

"I think that since Rogue was going when I left, she might need some support today. She had it worse yesterday than I did." Wanda really wasn't up to spending the day with Mystique. "Thanks, though."

Mystique started the car and began the drive back to Bayville. "I will have to speak to your principal about this mutant persecution."

"It's just a bunch of snotty kids. And they let us go to that school openly. That's remarkable in of itself. You couldn't, Magneto and Professor McCoy and Xavier couldn't, but they'll let us. It's a step in the right direction. We can deal with the kids."

"You shouldn't have to."

"No, but only the jocks get through high school without taking grief off of someone. I'll be out in a year and a half, don't worry about me." Wanda smiled. "A little hex in the right place at the right time, presto, a test gone wrong. I think I'll have to look into that."

Even Mystique, who had hated mutant persecution and fought it in her own way all her life, had to smirk at the prospect of some old fashioned teenaged payback. "If the principal is as anti-mutant as you say, be careful. He could make things worse for you."

They drove in silence the rest of the way. As Wanda got out of the car Mystique added; "Have a better day Wanda. I'll see you lot back at the house by five." With that she drove off.

Wanda made her way into the school and got to her locker just as the bell rang. "Here we go." Wanda sighed as she ducked into homeroom, late.

New Scene

"Hey, Rogue. How was that geometry test?" Wanda set her tray down across from Rogue in the noisy lunchroom. They had taken to spending time together in the month since their accident. As they were both Juniors, they had some classes together, like geometry.

"I hate math." Rogue scowled down at the freezer pizza the school tried to fob off on them. "Why do we need to learn that stuff anyway? I'm never going to be an architect."

"State standards, probably. I -." Wanda stopped. "Well, what do you want?" She said to her brother who had showed up at their table.

"I was just wondering if you wanted a ride home after school."

"I told you I would be there at four and it means I'll be there at four. Go away!" There was more than a little trace of anger in her voice and Pietro knew when to back off.

"I swear, for the past month he's been overprotective in the extreme."

"Maybe he doesn't like you hanging out with me. After all, I did leave the Brotherhood."

"Too bad. I live in house with Mystique as the only other woman. I need some variety. And you are about as much variety you can get." Wanda referred to the odd references Rogue would make in some of their conversations. "Anyway, forget him. Can't you borrow some explanations about the geometry? Surely one of them understands it."

A wry smile twisted Rogue's face. "Magneto understands geometry as it relates to metal fatigue, Scott's blocking the memories and Jean, well; I leave Jean where she is most of the time."

"What about Storm?" Wanda asked.

"I don't bring her out much. We haven't started practicing her powers yet and I don't want to trigger something accidentally."

"Let me guess, you were trying to get me under control before you moved on to the heavy powers."

"I wouldn't call earthquakes, magma, and optic blasts easy going." They both smiled at the joke. Rogue found herself amazed at how much more easily she could handle her mutation by talking it over with someone her own age. Though both she and Wanda were normally suspicious and slow to trust, they had formed a fast friendship despite heavy opposition from both the X-men and the Brotherhood. "So, what do you have next? Any tests?"

New Scene

Wanda showed up at home at 4:00 exactly. "O.k. Pietro," Wanda started as she walked in the door. "What's so important about this meeting that it couldn't wait -." Coming into the living room, she saw Magneto standing in the middle of the room with Pietro standing nervously to one side. His presence filled the room, surrounding his children with a power they could not ignore.

"Hello Wanda. I was thinking the three of us could go out for dinner and get better reacquainted." Magneto calmly spoke as if it was a perfectly reasonable request.

Now, usually, Wanda would have set into her father like starving lions on a helpless gazelle. She hated him that much. However, in the month since that night in the Xavier mansion when Rogue had woke up screaming from a dream forged of both hers and Magneto's memories, she had been thinking about her father. She had been wondering what he was like as a person and what he had been through. Most of all she wondered how, having known what it was like to be institutionalized, he could hand her over to the mental hospital.

Not quite knowing what to say, Wanda glanced over at Pietro. The pleading in his eyes was clear. Why would he be pleading for her to come? He couldn't be afraid of Magneto, could he?

They had never spoken of Pietro's life while she had been locked away. They ignored it as if it never happened. After all, he had been in New York City enrolled in a school when Mystique found him, it couldn't have been too bad.

The long silence continued. Magneto was expectant, but not unnerved by it. Wanda's mind was working too furiously to notice. Pietro, was too full of energy to be able to hold still and quiet during a standoff. He shifted from one foot to the other. Finally, he burst out, "Come on Wanda, just try it!"

What the hell? She could always hex them.

New Scene

"Hey Rogue. Practice in half an hour." Logan told Rogue as she walked in the main hall.

They had been practicing, on a weekly basis, different ways of using her powers until they could become instinctive. None of them ever activated instantly. Logan wanted to make sure that she got as instinctive as she could so that when she was in danger, she would defend herself more actively and effectively. Logan sparred with Rogue, the injunction being that she could only use one power a session until she had the majority down pat. Today, they would finally work on honing Erik's power to a fine edge.

Rogue didn't like doing this to Logan. She knew from his memories that the times he had been physically manipulated by Erik, it had hurt and left him with a nasty resonance to magnetic fields for weeks afterward.

That was another thing Logan was trying to train out of her; too much consideration of her enemies' feelings. She almost couldn't help it. Since she had their experiences she knew how it felt. It took a lot of anger to get her to ignore that stab of memory from Logan when she inflicted damage to the Logan in real life. And she just didn't get angry like that at Logan.

"Rogue." Logan had his claws two inches from her throat. They had been practicing for over an hour. It had been his own control that saved her from having to practice his self-healing many times over. His voice sounded both exasperated and amused.

"Yeah, I know. I can use it; I don't want to practice like that. How many adamantium-enhanced skeletons am I likely to fight?"

"Me, for one. My daughter for another. You had no problem doing this the first time we practiced. Stop regressing!"

This went on for another ten minutes before Logan got frustrated and just heaved a metal beam at her. Rogue stopped this easily and then started chasing Logan around the room with it. Logan found that slashing it into pieces didn't help and Rogue was on the floor, laughing.

When finally, Logan cried halt, he came over to her, trying to keep a stern look on his face. "You're going to need to put that concern for your enemies away. They'll still kill you, no matter what the version in your head says."

Rogue didn't have time to form a retort. The Professor interrupted.

Rogue. Wanda is here looking for you. She's very upset, come quickly.

She found a very tense scene as she came down the stairs in the main foyer. X-men and assorted students were standing nervously to either side and well back from a hex-lit and clearly furious Wanda. Storm, the Professor and Hank were present, ready to intervene if need be.

Rogue knew of Wanda's memories; that there really only three things that could get her in such a state. Magneto, Pietro, and the sanatorium, her old alma mater. Something about the way Wanda was glowering at nothing in particular told Rogue that she needed to vent and that she probably wanted some privacy when she did.

Reaching Wanda Rogue said, "Come on. Let's go outside." Without actually touching her, Rogue led the way to one of the secluded spots scattered around the grounds. As they walked away, Rogue could feel the palpable relief radiating off of all the people inside.

"What happened?" Rogue sat while Wanda paced and fumed.

"I'll kill him! I swear it! The next time he comes near me, he's dead!" Wanda's hands had been glowing blue since Rogue had first seen her in the house, but now she started hexing grass, bushes, the odd bird that had been brave enough to stay.

"That, _ass_, that has the gall to claim that he's my father, asked if I would join his new mutant organization, now that I COULD 'HANDLE MY PROBLEM'!" Wanda's voice grew louder with every word.

The hexed birds were startled off, but couldn't quite gain enough purchase and some fell to the earth, squawking.

"As if I was the reason he had to put me in that bloody prison! I really thought after that whole Apocalypse thing, that we could get along, you know be a family. Maybe he was actually sorry that he had done that to me, you know, maybe he'd recognize that he missed out on having a daughter. But no, he's acting like it was all my fault we couldn't be a family. Like I was acting outrageous!" Rogue could see that Wanda was very close to crying and she was glad that no one else was there to see this.

"And Pietro!" Wanda's voice took on a note of hurt betrayal. Pietro just sat there and let him speak to me like that. I don't even know why I'm surprised, but it just made it so much worse. How can he claim to be my brother if he can't even stand up for me? You have them both in your head, you tell me!"

And here was one of the many dilemmas Rogue's power caused her to face. She badly wanted to help her friend. Having a deep understanding with all three members of Magneto's family meant she had insights into each ones motives. And while the info she had wasn't exactly under a confessional seal, did she really have the right to betray things better kept secret unless betrayed by the person?

Especially when they were things that Pietro dreaded the day that Wanda knew.


	5. Relationships and Small Comforts

"I just don't see how Rogue can march off with Miss Wanda in the state that she's in, and we're all supposed to relax and go back to what we were doing!"

"Jean, calm down." Scott had to quicken his steps in order to get around Jean and keep her from charging off onto the grounds. Taking her by the hand, he sat down on the fountain seat and waited for her to follow. "I'm sure the Professor's keeping an eye on them. Wanda seemed upset and maybe Rogue can help her. They seem to have similar temperaments, and they've been becoming friends. Besides, you don't really want to barge in on them with Wanda as angry as she was."

Okay, now clearly that had been the wrong thing to say. For half a moment, Scott thought Jean had developed a touch of pyrokinesis, her glare was that potent.

"That's what you think of me? You think I'd be that stupid? I'm just expressing my concerns about what's safe for all of us who live here. Wanda's powerful enough to beat all of us. She has before, and if we get used to her and the rest of the Brotherhood traipsing in and out, -."

"Jean! Come on. It hasn't gotten that bad yet and if it does, we'll be careful. What's really bothering you?"

"Rogue's never really warmed up to me. I tried so hard and she just shuts me out. And now, she and Wanda have become friends practically overnight. I'm her teammate!"

"Well, since that accident last month, maybe they both felt they could lower their defenses a little. Maybe Rogue'll get used to it and open up to the rest of us more. She's had a tough year what with Mesmero and,-."

"Not, to interrupt, Scott, but I've had my own share of run-ins with Mesmero. If you'd bother to remember."

"I'm sorry Jean, I should have -."

"Kept your mouth shut?"

Though she couldn't see his eyes, his jaw did his iron-man impersonation that he reserved for when he was ticked. She'd gone too far. Oh, God. Here he was trying to help her and she had to go and lash out at him. "Scott, I'm sorry, I was angry but I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"Yeah. It's okay. Let's do something fun. We could try the Danger Room."

"We need lives."

"Race ya?" Scott's smile let Jean know that he wasn't too angry at her.

"Okay."

Rogue stopped as they reached the Brotherhood's house. It had been a long walk, and a long day. They had stopped at the food court and took the longer routes through the industrial complex by the river and then the park.

There had been so much for both Rogue and Wanda to tell. But after Rogue's explanation, nothing more was said about Pietro or Erik.

"It would be wrong for me to tell you." Wanda's presence went from pleading to threatening. She was so upset, she probably didn't even realize she was doing it. "Wait. Wanda, please, let me explain."

"I need to know." Her voice was cold, calm. Very unlike Wanda.

"No, you need to understand. It's different. If I tell you, you'll know, but it won't help your relationship with Pietro at all. If he finds out that I've told you, he'll be mad at me and you. And he won't want to explain why he cowers around Erik to you. You need to talk to him. Tell him how you feel."

"I don't know if you've noticed, Rogue, but we Lensherr's aren't much for touchy-feely."

"You think I am?" Rogue wasn't good at this feelings bit either. "You both need to talk to each other. He's scared you'll hate him for abandoning you. And he won't tell you what happened after Erik left you until he knows you don't think that anymore. He'll start to trust you."

Wanda turned away from Rogue, deep in thought.

"If you talk to him, maybe you can have a brother again."

"I have a brother." Wanda's voice was flat, terse.

"No you don't. You can't count on him. He can't count on you."

"Well, whose fault is that?"

"Erik's."

Wanda smirked as if to agree.

"Hey, come on. New subject. Let's do something fun."

"Rogue, what was it like growing up in Mississippi?"

"You really wanna go in?" Rogue asked. Looking up at this place she'd once called home.

"Sure. I live here." With a rueful chuckle she turned back to Rogue. She grinned a hopeful smile. "You know, you could move back in."

"Hey, you could move out." It had become an old joke with them. Neither one could bear the leader of the other's household. They both looked up at the house again. Neither had ever told so much about their lives to someone else before. There was a lot to think about.

Wanda broke the silence. "You want me to walk you home?"

Rogue couldn't help laughing. "I can get home in half a second! In fact, I never left!"

"How's your work with Storm coming?"

"It's not, really. We might go out later to practice tomorrow. Logan's still trying to get me not to feel bad about flinging him into walls."

"That's a prerequisite?"

"No, but, I'm not comfortable with the idea of mucking about with the weather. She was one of the first mutants I absorbed; I didn't even know them yet." Rogue stopped. "I just told you all this, why do you need to hear it again."

Wanda moved her hand dismissively. "Let me put it this way, it is now October. I'm no clairvoyant, but I think we're gonna have a snowy winter. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, okay. Is anyone looking?" Rogue asked, looking around herself.

"I don't see anyone and all the curtains are down."

"See ya." With a grin and a small rush of air, Rogue was gone.

Wanda turned up the walk and headed inside.

Magneto surveyed the scene from a car that was parked within sight of the Brotherhood's house.

Storm set the jet down carefully in one of the park's clearings.

"All right Rogue. We're far enough away from everything that minor weather changes should go unnoticed by most of Bayville and upstate New York. How much weather have you been able to effect?"

"Other than the thunderstorms I called up when I lost control and the first time I met you, nothing." Rogue shrugged. "Honestly, I've been a little afraid to play around with lightning."

"I can certainly understand that. My sister and I emigrated from Africa when we were near your age. I have had white hair since I was a child and it was an easy target for schoolchildren. One time, their teasing went too far, and the rains came out of season. Before anyone understood what was going on, the water froze first into flakes, then into a bruising hailstorm. Later, when our father died, I could not control my mutation and the lightning storm almost destroyed our entire village. We were not allowed to stay there after that. It is a dangerous ability which, for me at least, responds to my emotions. The degree of control has been hard to come by."

"That's why you didn't want anyone to come with us."

"Yes. I can protect myself, and your default mutation, if you lose control, is Kitty's insubstantiality. Lightning will pass right through you. Understood?"

"I think I can do that. But, can we start simple?"

"Of course. Are you ready?"

"Okay."

Storm began to lead Rogue through the beginning stages of reaching out and recognizing various weather patterns and cloud formations. It was not easy.

"Storm, if this is your mutation, shouldn't you instinctively understand these things?"

"I do."

"Then why did you go through the trouble of going to school to learn about this?"

With a wry smile, Storm answered. "Oh, the doctorate. I knew that I might have to train someone someday. It helps to know the terminology and the physics behind meteorology. That way, some of the things other scientists have learned about the weather can help you. I know that for other powers, you have gotten direction from the memories in your head. Can my personality help you at all?"

"Well, apparently, I'm supposed to move this there," as she spoke, Rogue shoved at a mass of air. "And lightly pull this here." With that, a grey cloud blew in from the west and started bathing the trees on the other side of the clearing with rain.

"That is very good. You must have been practicing. Try lightning."

"There's not enough charge for a lightning bolt."

Storm smiled. "Good. How do you build up that charge?"

The whole afternoon was spent learning how to build up large and small electricity charges for various lightning sizes and how to manipulate temperature and pressure to create snowflakes out of rain. When Rogue's first experiments with wind degenerated into a miniature tornado, Storm quickly wrested control and called it quits.

"Rogue, you are doing very well. Seeing your reluctance to use it makes me feel better about your having this power. It shows that you have a clear idea of how destructive it can be. You will not abuse it.

"But Rogue," Storm continued. "You could have allowed the personality of me in your head to guide you. Why did you wait for me to be with you?"

"If I screw up, you can fix it." Rogue smiled, jokingly. Then her expression grew more serious. "Storm, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"If I knew why-." Rogue stopped a minute to consider her phrasing. When she started speaking again, the words rushed out faster and faster. "Let's say Evan wanted to know why you behaved a certain way, how would you feel if he came to me and asked why you did what you did? Would you want me to tell him? And if-."

"Wait, Rogue, slow down."

"Think about it a minute. If I told someone something about you that I learned because I'd absorbed you, how would you feel?"

Storm seemed surprised by the question. As she was thinking, she seated herself near Rogue on the grass of the clearing. "Rogue, none of us blames you for what happened with Apocalypse. You and he had similar abilities; it makes sense that he learned much of what he knew of us through you. However, that was done through Mystique and Mesmero's manipulations, not your will. Do you understand that?"

"Yes."

Storm continued. "In fact, none of us, especially me, would be free today if you had not used Leech's abilities to shut down mutations and other energy sources to stop him."

"But if it were someone else, not Apocalypse, would you feel betrayed?"

A shadow fell over them as the Blackbird rose with a hum of straining magnetic currents. This proved the distraction, for, a ways behind them a voice declared:

"I know I would."


	6. Ripped Apart

"And in breaking news, in upper state New York a massive thunderstorm has suddenly developed in the last hour. Locals say that earlier this afternoon they had light showers, but nothing to suggest a storm of this magnitude. The governor has advised all residents of the Thousand Islands area to remain indoors as a flood watch takes effect. We can't stress this enough, this is a thunderstorm of surprising power and intensity. We'll continue to bring you updates throughout the night."

"Hey Professor, didn't Storm take Rogue upstate?" Kitty muted the sound and turned to Professor Xavier. "Professor? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Kitty, I'm sure they are well on their way back. Would you do me a favor?"

"Sure, what?"

"Would you mind calling Lance, and asking if Magneto has been by since Wanda returned yesterday?"

"Okay." Kitty was clearly intrigued by the Professor's strange request, but dialed the phone anyway. "Hi Lance! I wanted to ask you something. Has Magneto been there this week? Really? That's weird. Hey listen, you wanna get together later today? Ok, see you then. What? It's nothing, really. No!" Kitty laughed. "You're so paranoid!" Then she hung up the phone. "Lance said he was there yesterday and he and Wanda got into a fight, he waited around for her outside after she left."

"Did they meet when she returned?"

"Lance says they couldn't have 'cause she wasn't in a 'towering rage'. What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure anything is yet, Kitty. Thank you." With that, the professor rolled off to find Logan.

Logan was in the danger room.

"There's a massive thunderstorm up where Ororo took Rogue. It's been raging for almost an hour and there's a flood watch in effect."

"You think Rogue lost control and hit Storm with too much lighting and knocked her out?" Logan said, toweling off his face.

"I've been tracking Erik in the area since earlier this week. Apparently he and Wanda were fighting yesterday. He waited around for her but either left or didn't let her know he was there."

"And?"

"He's up near Thousand Islands."

"They took the jet? I'll go on the bike."

"You should take someone with you."

"Who, Scott? I'll be traveling way over the limit; he can't survive an accident like that."

"You're useless against Erik."

"You got another jet to take, I'll be happy to baby-sit the munchkins on a picnic up to the river." Before Xavier could respond, Logan was already out the door.

New Scene

Shit, this was a lot of rain. Logan's bike had slipped and crashed four times already and if he hadn't had his mutation he would have died from the first. But finally, he had made it to the park were Storm had planned to practice. All he had to do was find the clearing.

A magnetic pulse greedily seized hold of both him and the bike and sailed him over the trees. Before he landed, the bike had been ripped and smelted into its base materials. The magnetic forces tried to stretch him in a similar way. The pain was incredible; before he could do more than begin his scream, his brain forced unconsciousness.

However long later, Logan jerked back into awareness. He was lying on a rock up off of the swamp of a field. Storm lay beside him. She had been there so long that the sections of blood protected from the rain by her hair, had started to scab over.

"Logan!" Storm flew towards him through the rain. "Logan, stay on the rock!" She settled to sit on the bare area next to him.

Who wouldn't look twice? Yes, Storm was out cold next to him on the left, and warm and angry on the right. "Rogue?"

"Hi." StormRogue on the right morphed into JeanRogue, who put up a telekinesis shield around the three of them. The rain slowed to a drizzle. "Rogue, well the rest of Rogue, is out there fighting Magneto."

"How long has this been going on?"

"I don't know. He got his fourth wind back when you showed up, and he started attacking us again. He's been doing hit and fade tactics since the first time Rogue beat him. He killed the Blackbird. First he almost crushed us with it, and then he ripped it to shreds."

"Why have you been keeping the storm up? You're not good enough with Storm's power to keep it going like this."

"Storm is, though. Magneto hit Rogue, so she split off into copies. She let Storm take over one to keep the air so charged with electricity that there was a limit to how much metal Magneto would draw to him. He won't survive electrocution. She was also hoping the Professor would see the weather and send help."

Another magnetic hum filled the air. JeanRogue stopped talking and tightened her shield.

The fact that the copies of Rogue who had assumed the shape and personalities of Jean and Storm were talking of Rogue as another person, was not good. She had to be extremely tired. They had to get out of there.

"Rogue, try using the Elf's trick to get us out."

"She did, he was the other copy she made. Magneto gutted him with a piece of the Blackbird."

"She can still use it right? He was just a copy."

"Magneto said he could have killed Storm while Kurt was holding her. She's been too scared to try again."

"Rogue!" Logan shouted to be heard. "Rogue get over here!"

A flash of brilliant red lit the night. The magnetic forces being blocked by JeanRogue's TK died out.

Rogue appeared with a gust of sound. She spent a moment concentrating and JeanRogue morphed into KurtRogue who lightly gathered Storm into his arms and disappeared. For three minutes after they disappeared, she continued to concentrate intensely. "Come on, we'll go. I – I think I finally got him. I'll have to stop every three miles. That's Kurt's limit."

Rogue was so tired, she had to hug Logan tightly to make sure that she took him with her when she teleported. Though the first six ports went off well, after the first twenty miles, after the energy she had expended getting Storm home, there was little she could use to get them back to the Institute. When they were less than eight miles from town, Rogue collapsed.

Luckily, the Professor had managed to keep in contact with Logan and sent Hank with the van to pick them up.

KurtRogue had safely delivered Storm to the medlab, startling Jean and Hank, who were studying for a pre-med class. Storm would need to rest for a couple of days from the concussion Magneto had given her. But otherwise, she would be fine.

Rogue would take a little more recovery. Physically, she was merely worn out. Extra sleep would care of that. Xavier thought her control over her other mentalities could be only strengthened by the experience. The fact that she could force the other personalities to act on their own and still maintain control over them and their powers, despite being near the end of her own strength, to Xavier at least, was a good sign.

"It means that she is less likely to lose control over them when she is in better straits."

"I don't know, Chuck. She seemed to be sticking to members of the team. She knew she could control them. They don't fight her the way Magneto and the rest of the Acolytes do." While Logan was impressed with all the Rogue had done, he knew how Charles could get when he discovered a new aspect of mutations. Control this potentially powerful, Charles could lose his normally excellent restraint, which would not be good for Rogue.

"She can work up to controlling them. Logan, do you realize what this could mean? She could in fact be the most powerful mutant living. It-."

"Charles, hold it. She's sleeping off the feat in the medlab, so don't get too excited. I want to know why Magneto attacked Rogue. Hank said Storm was awake for a few minutes, did she say anything?"

"No. She just asked if Rogue was okay, and fell back asleep when Hank said yes. I have tracked Magneto to southern Montana. He did not seem inclined towards staying around New York."

Logan snorted into a smirk. "She hurt him pretty good."

"It would seem so." Xavier was lost in thought. Almost to himself he remarked, "Why did you come?"

Evan, Jean and Scott came running into Xavier's office. A flurry of shadows and scuffles across the door betrayed the fact that most of the school's students were clustered outside the door.

"Professor! What's going on? Is Storm okay?"

"She'll be fine, Toothpick. She and Rogue got into a fight with Magneto, but they'll both be okay."

"Does this have something to do with Wanda and Pietro?" Jean asked, still worried, but able to piece scenarios together.

At this turn, Xavier's head came up sharply. "Yes Jean. That very well could have something to do with all of this. We shall ask them both once they awaken."


	7. Let Loyalties Lie

"Hello _cherie_." A lanky shadow fell over the patch of sunshine she was sprawled in. Sharing a house with a pack of boys, didn't leave her much choice in the way of space. Whichever one had bothered her was going to pay. She didn't even bother to open her eyes.

"What do you want, and how likely do you think it is that I'll help you if you if you keep blocking the light?"

The shadow moved over two steps. "I hear the _belle femme_ is often in your company."

Wanda looked up, peeved. Gambit had been one of her father's goons. To her, at least, this was not a point in his favor. Add that to the fact that Magneto had once sent his orders to the Brotherhood through him and there was no reason to want to see the mutant again.

"Who?" She decided to sit up for the rest of this conversation.

"Rogue, _ma cherie_. Have you seen her?"

"You know where she lives, don't you."

"Yes, but this Cajun has found the inhabitants of the Institute to be a trifle, difficle. I would like to speak to her outside."

"If I remember, I'll let her know. Go away."

"But,-." Gambit was cut off by the sudden blast of blue hexlight that Wanda wielded.

"Go away." Laying back down, and closing her eyes, Wanda dismissed him as effectively as if she had shut a door in his face. Her father had a similar knack for the trick.

No sooner had the Gambit gone, Pietro was hovering over her demanding who had been there. So much for relaxation and privacy.

"Gambit wanted Rogue." Maybe if she just told him he'd run off somewhere.

"Why?" There was an undercurrent of emotion in his words.

"What do you care?"

"Last I heard, he had left Father."

"And I suppose that is inconceivable that someone would ever leave Him. After all, Magneto is perfectly capable of disposing of those closest to him. He doesn't need help."

"Hey! You know, it wasn't all fun and games once you'd gone. We didn't have cops and principals demanding to know what kind of home life had developed your violent temper, and that was a relief, let me tell you, but things still sucked."

"Yeah, I suppose being abandoned, locked up and drugged was a reasonable response to a kid's anger. How silly of me."

Pietro was furious now. "You were out of control, calling attention to us! Because of you, I-." His eyes went wide as he choked on the words.

"What?" He didn't answer. "Pietro, what happened when I was gone?"

The words came slowly and quietly. "He started getting other mutants to join. Some of them were just as belligerent as you used to be, but they were older." At this, Pietro stopped talking and thought. Wanda, remembering a little of what Rogue had said, stayed quiet. "Father said that we had to protect ourselves when they started attracting attention. They were weak and knew too much. Anyway, after, Father said that since I was older and could control my power, I had no excuse to screw up."

A small burble of hysteria finished his reminiscence. "You, dear sister, got put away, I would have been put do-."

Wanda was no fool, and could read between the lines as easily as anyone else. Whatever it was that Pietro couldn't tell her was terrifying him. He looked as lost and alone as she had felt at her old alma mater.

Perhaps this was why she moved to stop him from finishing his thought with one of the few genuine gestures she had ever given him.

Nothing, not even a fierce hug from his sister would let Pietro forget what his father could do. Despite how much he cared for Wanda, there was no way he could go against his father. Rebellion was not for Magneto's children; how could he make her see that? If getting involved with someone whose loyalties had proven shaky and someone who apparently had joined the Acolytes and left them could hurt her, he had to somehow get her away from all that.

Damn! After the whole Apocalypse disaster, he had thought so much of their baggage had been laid aside. Had Rogue done something to Wanda when she touched her? And to think, he had once liked the bitch.

But for right now, Wanda was hugging him. Maybe something of their old closeness had not died when she had gone away and he had moved on.

"Hey! Pietro, man! Phone for you!" Toad bounced out into the backyard. "Yo, sweets, how 'bout hug for me?"

The connection ruined, Wanda hex Toad horribly so that he lay there, twitching. When she stalked up to the house, Pietro was already inside, standing nervously with his ear to the receiver.

"Yes, I understand. Alright, sir. Yes." His hand was shaking when he hung up.

"What's was that?" Wanda's voice seemed more understanding, but that would change if he told her the truth of his conversation from his father. Her loyalties were more with Rogue than they were with him. Pietro had his orders.

"Nothing much. Father had to leave town."

"That's good."

"Yeah." In a burst of speed, Pietro left the house. First he had some information to collect.


End file.
